


Front to Back, Side to Side

by clockwork_hound



Category: RWBY
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-05-08 02:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5480054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clockwork_hound/pseuds/clockwork_hound
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots.  Some are canon-compliant, others... not so much.  A brief summary will be included in every chapter, so feel free to pick through 'em all and read the ones that appeal to you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ruby makes Emerald an offer. Set ten years into the future.

Prison had not been kind to Emerald.

Where her face had once been rounded and soft, it was now hard–comprised of hard lines and jagged edges.  Painfully prominent cheekbones framed sunken eyes, devoid of the mischievous twinkle Ruby had come to know so many years ago.

“To what do I owe the pleasure,  _Ms. Rose_?”

Gone was that gentle, teasing lilt.  Without it, every word stung, every word cut deeper than the sharpest blade–

–Or at least, it should have.  But where most heard hostility, Ruby only heard pain, and that was what hurt the most.

But who was she to talk of pain?  She had suffered–suffered more than most–but she was  _free_.  Emerald didn’t have the luxury of freedom, didn’t have the luxury of using Grimm as punching bags and stress relievers.  Emerald didn’t get to feel the sun on the face or the wind in her hair.

No, she got to rot in a prison cell for ten years with only her thoughts to keep her company.

“I haven’t got all day, Rose.  If you’re going to just sit there and stare, I’m going to leave.”

Ruby’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline before she could stop them.  Emerald gave her a scathing look in response.

“And if you’re going to suggest that I have  _plenty_  of free time, then allow me to enlighten you to the fact that I’d rather not spend it all on you.”

“Sorry,” Ruby mumbled, glancing down at the table.  Her reflection met her gaze, shimmering on the metallic surface.  “I… I had everything I was going to say, but…”

She took a deep breath.  Looked up.  Met Emerald’s gaze.  …Or tried to, anyway.  Emerald had taken an interest in her fingernails, which had been bitten down to the quick.

“I see all those years in the field have done nothing for your confidence.”

“That’s different,” Ruby bristled.  Emerald’s eyes hardened, and all of the redhead’s aggression suddenly left her.  “I’m sorry.”

She meant it.  And Emerald knew it–she saw the girl relax, even if it was just by a fraction.

“I didn’t come here to fight.  I… I have a… proposition of sorts, for you.”

A grin split the other girl’s face.  But it was cold, and Ruby could see the corners of Emerald’s mouth quirked downward ever so slightly.

“Oh, how grand!  The valiant Huntress, come to strike a bargain with the poor criminal!  Pray, tell me, what did you do to need  _this_?  Because at the end of the day, we know what this is, Rose–it’s another fucking PR stunt.  Don’t think that you’re the first to approach me with this bullshit!”

Emerald lunged forward, snarling.  The chains that bound her to the table clanked with every movement, and the sound sent shivers up Ruby’s spine.  Still, she remained strong, calmly meeting Emerald’s gaze.

“What kind of salvation are you going to give me, Rose?  Are you going to preach verses to me, try and fix my corrupted heart?  Going to promise a shorter sentence for information that I don’t have?  Going to–”

“I’m going to promise your  _freedom_.”

Emerald froze.  Small traces of hope started to kindle in her eyes.

But then that cold, hard fire came back.  Emerald leaned back, and if looks could kill, Ruby would be little more than a mangled corpse on the floor.

“And here I thought you were supposed to be the  _kind_  one.”

Wordlessly, Ruby procured a small key from her pocket, and held it up.  Emerald eyed it with a curious expression, keeping her guard up all the while.

“I have at least thirty more years left, Rose.”

“Not anymore.”  Ruby set the key down on the table.  Emerald’s eyes followed it.  “You’ve done some bad things, Emerald, but in the end you were made a scapegoat.  It’s not fair for you to bear the brunt of what should be  _Cinder’s_  sentence.”

The muscles in Emerald’s jaw tightened.  Even after ten years, it seemed  _that woman_  was a sore subject–and rightfully so.

“We pulled some strings, and managed to overturn the General’s ruling.  We decided that ten years was more than enough jail time.”

“’ _We_ ’?”

“My team, and a few others lent a hand.  All people who were involved with the… incident ten years ago.”

“And they vouched for me?”  Emerald scoffed, rolling her eyes.  “Please… After all we did–”

“After all you did, they still didn’t think it fair to let you rot in prison,” Ruby interrupted.  “While we are all well aware of what you’ve done, Emerald, no one thinks that forty years is a befitting sentence.  Not when you didn’t know what was going on half the time, and not when you ended up just as hurt as the rest of us.”

For the first time since they’d entered the room, Emerald went quiet.  It wasn’t the good kind of quiet, but rather the brooding kind, where anger was bubbling just beneath the surface.  Another sore topic, it seemed.

“ _So_ ,” Ruby pressed on, eager to take advantage of the silence.  “You now have a choice.  You can sit here and rot for thirty more years, and then hope you can get out on probation, or… You can get out now.  You’ll still be on probation, but instead of reporting to a regular probation officer… Well, you’ll be staying with one of us.”

Emerald’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline.  “…Excuse me?”

“Almost everyone involved in… this agreed that they’d rather have one of our own watching you.”

“Ah, there’s the mistrust,” Emerald hummed, but didn’t seem all that offended.  Leaning forward slightly, she met Ruby’s gaze, keeping her expression completely neutral.  “Say I  _do_  accept–who do I have a choice of living with?  Because I assume that’s what it’s going to be–some sort of babysitter arrangement.”

Ruby nodded.  “Essentially, yes.  I have a list here…”  Digging into one of her pockets, she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, unfolded it, and slid it across the table to Emerald.  On it were the names of every member of Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and even a few from Teams SSSN and CFVY.  Ruby wasn’t sure if it was the people or the numbers that had Emerald so surprised–she was staring down at the paper like it was a completely foreign object.

After a moment, Emerald laughed, and shook her head.  “You’re a weird group of people,” she murmured, “Showing so much compassion to someone like me.”

“Everyone deserves a little kindness.”

“I don’t think this counts as ‘a little’.  …Then again, I don’t know what I was expecting.  I distinctly remember you lunging at General Ironwood after he passed the verdict.”

Ruby distinctly remembered that, too.  She also remembered cussing him out after they’d taken Emerald away.

“So?  Are you going to leave with me, or stay in this hellhole?”

There was a pause.

Then, “What about Mercury?”

“He’ll be getting out early, too.  …I don’t know when, though.  His charges were a little heavier, and we’re having a problem agreeing on what time he should be released.”

Emerald nodded slowly.  For the briefest of moments, relief danced across her features, though it was quick to be replaced by a neutral expression.

“…I suppose I don’t really have a choice in this.  No one in their right mind would choose to stay here.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emerald thinks Cinder's name is funny.

Warmth is not a word that exists Cinder Fall's dictionary. The irony is sometimes more than Emerald can handle. There's just something intrinsically amusing about a woman possessing a name born of fire when she might as well be the embodiment of ice.

Emerald once made the mistake of pointing this out to Cinder.

She isn’t enough of a masochist to do it again.


	3. And So Pyrrha Smiles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Pyrrha smiles, because what else can she do?

She’s fourteen when she wins the Mistral Championship. She’s the youngest person in history to do so, and the nation rushes to praise her abilities. She’s hailed as a prodigy, murmurs of “beginner’s luck” drowned out by the overwhelming support.

And so Pyrrha smiles.

She’s fifteen when she defends her title – successfully defends it, too.

And so Pyrrha smiles.

When she’s sixteen, she does it again. Companies begin asking her to promote their products.

And so Pyrrha smiles.

At seventeen, Pyrrha emerges from the Mistral Tournament undefeated. The nation cheers, and her face finds it’s way onto posters and televisions and cereal boxes. Whispers and pointed stares follow her wherever she goes. People do not. They place her on a pedestal reserved for gods, and no one is brave enough to approach her. She leads a life of solitude, reporters acting as her only connection to the world outside.

And so Pyrrha smiles.

At seventeen, Pyrrha tries to leave everything behind and enrols in Beacon. But her fame transcends kingdoms, and she finds herself no less isolated than before.

And so Pyrrha smiles.

At seventeen, Pyrrha is expected to lead a team of highly-trained, efficient warriors that outclass those much older than them.

At seventeen, Pyrrha is denied that opportunity when she is assigned to a team led by a bumbling, inexperienced farmer boy. The media is outraged. Mistral is outraged. They claim that she has been denied the chance to grow to her full potential. Ozpin handles the backlash, and she is kept far away from the press.

And so Pyrrha smiles.

At seventeen, Pyrrha finds salvation in the very people the world tried to turn against. Her team is kind, her team is gentle. They are unfazed by her fame, unfazed by her reputation. They have no qualms about speaking with her, sparring with her, sharing the same living space as her. They have no qualms about tearing down the pedestal and bringing her wholly and completely into their world. They care not for the Invincible Girl, the Mistral Champion. They care only for the girl underneath – they care only for Pyrrha Nikos.

And so Pyrrha cries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, unedited drabble that plays with repetition. Haven't written for awhile, so excuse the rust.


End file.
